Queen regnant
A queen regnant is a female monarch, equivalent in rank to a king, who reigns in her own right, as opposed to a queen consort, the wife of a reigning king, or a queen regent, the guardian of a child monarch and reigns temporarily in the child's stead. An empress regnant is a female monarch. A queen regnant possesses and exercises sovereign powers, whereas a queen consort shares her husband's rank and titles, but does not share the sovereignty of her husband; the husband of a queen regnant traditionally does not share his wife's title or sovereignty. However, the concept of a king consort is not unheard of in both classical periods. A queen dowager is the widow of a king. A queen mother is a queen dowager, the mother of a reigning sovereign. In Ancient Africa, Ancient Persia and Pacific cultures, in some European countries, female monarchs have been given the title king or its equivalent, such as pharaoh, when gender is irrelevant to the office, or else have used the masculine form of the word in languages that have grammatical gender as a way to classify nouns.
The Byzantine Empress Irene sometimes called herself basileus,'emperor', rather than basilissa,'empress' and Jadwiga of Poland was crowned as Rex Poloniae, King of Poland. Among the Davidic Monarchs of the Kingdom of Judah, there is mentioned a single queen regnant, though the Hebrew Bible regards her negatively as a usurper; the much Hasmonean Queen Salome Alexandra was popular. Accession of a queen regnant occurs as a nation's order of succession permits. Methods of succession to queendoms, tribal chiefships, such include nomination and ultimogeniture; the scope of succession may be patrilineal, or both. The right of succession may be limited to men only or to women only; the most typical succession in European monarchies from the Late Middle Ages until the late 20th century was male-preference primogeniture: the order of succession ranked the sons of the monarch in order of their birth, followed by the daughters. Many realms forbade succession by women or through a female line in accordance with the Salic law, some still do.
No queen regnant ruled France, for example. Only one woman, Maria Theresa, ruled Austria; as noted in the list below of widely-known ruling queens, many reigned in European monarchies. In the late 20th and early 21st centuries, Norway, the Netherlands, Denmark and the UK amended their laws of succession to absolute primogeniture. In some cases, the change does not take effect during the lifetimes of people in the line of succession at the time the law was passed. In 2011, the United Kingdom and 15 other Commonwealth realms agreed to remove the rule of male-preference primogeniture. Once the necessary legislation was passed, this means that had Prince William had a daughter first, a younger son would not become heir apparent. In 2015, Elizabeth II became the longest-reigning queen regnant and female head of state in world history. In 2016, she became the longest serving head of state and longest reigning monarch. In China, Wu Zetian became the Chinese empress regnant and established the Zhou Dynasty after dismissing her sons.
The Empress Wu used the title huangdi and in many European sources, is referred to as a female emperor rather than an empress regnant. A few decades earlier in Korea, Queen Seondeok of Silla and Jindeok of Silla developed the term yeowang to refer to themselves, using the title instead of wangbi, translated as "queen consort" and refers to the wife of a king or emperor. Although the Chrysanthemum Throne of Japan is barred to women, this has not always been the case. Again, the Japanese language uses the term josei tennō for the position which would be "empress regnant" in English, with kōgō being the term reserved for an empress consort; the Japanese succession debate became a significant political issue during the early 2000s, as no male children had been born to the Imperial House of Japan since 1965. Prime Minister Junichirō Koizumi pledged to present parliament with a bill to allow women to ascend the Imperial Throne, but he withdrew this after the birth of Prince Hisahito in 2006 Queens regnant portal Monarch List of elected and appointed female heads of state and government Order of succession Queen consort Rani Regent Salic law Sultana Women in government Monter, William.
The Rise of Female Kings in Europe, 1300-1800. Yale University Press. P. 271. ISBN 9780300173277.. Media related to Queens regnant at Wikimedia Commons
Viscount
A viscount or viscountess is a title used in certain European countries for a noble of varying status. In many countries a viscount, its historical equivalents, was a non-hereditary, administrative or judicial position, did not develop into an hereditary title until much later. In the case of French viscounts, it is customary to leave the title untranslated as vicomte and vicomtesse; the word viscount comes from Old French visconte, itself from Medieval Latin vicecomitem, accusative of vicecomes, from Late Latin vice- "deputy" + Latin comes. During the Carolingian Empire, the kings appointed counts to administer provinces and other smaller regions, as governors and military commanders. Viscounts were appointed to assist the counts in their running of the province, took on judicial responsibility; the kings prevented the offices of their counts and viscounts from becoming hereditary, in order to consolidate their position and limit chance of rebellion. The title was in use in Normandy by at least the early 11th century.
Similar to the Carolingian use of the title, the Norman viscounts were local administrators, working on behalf of the Duke. Their role was to administer justice and to collect taxes and revenues being castellan of the local castle. Under the Normans, the position developed into a hereditary one, an example of such being the viscounts in Bessin; the viscount was replaced by bailiffs, provosts. As a rank in British peerage, it was first recorded in 1440, when John Beaumont was created Viscount Beaumont by King Henry VI; the word viscount corresponds in the UK to the Anglo-Saxon shire reeve. Thus early viscounts were normally given their titles by the monarch, not hereditarily, they were a late introduction to the British peerage, on the evening of the Coronation of Queen Victoria in 1838, the Prime Minister Lord Melbourne explained to her why: I spoke to Ld M. about the numbers of Peers present at the Coronation, & he said it was quite unprecedented. I observed that there were few Viscounts, to which he replied "There are few Viscounts," that they were an old sort of title & not English.
In Belgium a few families are recognised as Viscounts: Viscount of Audenaerde Viscount of Hombeke Viscount de Spoelberch Viscount Eyskens Viscount Frimout Viscount Poullet A viscount is the fourth rank in the British peerage system, standing directly below an earl and above a baron. There are 270 viscountcies extant in the peerages of the British Isles, though most are secondary titles. In British practice, the title of a viscount may be either a place name, a surname, or a combination thereof: examples include the Viscount Falmouth, the Viscount Hardinge and the Viscount Colville of Culross, respectively. An exception exists for Viscounts in the peerage of Scotland, who were traditionally styled "The Viscount of ", such as the Viscount of Arbuthnott. In practice, however few maintain this style, instead using the more common version "The Viscount " in general parlance, for example Viscount of Falkland, referred to as Viscount Falkland. A British viscount is addressed in speech as Lord, while his wife is Lady, he is formally styled "The Right Honourable The Viscount ".
The children of a viscount are known as The Honourable. The title of viscount was introduced to the Peerage of Ireland in 1478 with the creation of the title of Viscount Gormanston, the senior viscountcy of Britain and Ireland, held today by Jenico Preston, 17th Viscount Gormanston. Other early Irish viscountcies were Viscount Baltinglass, Viscount Clontarf, Viscount Mountgarret and Viscount Decies. A British custom is the use of viscount as a courtesy title for the heir of an earl or marquess; the peer's heir apparent will sometimes be referred to as a viscount, if the second most senior title held by the head of the family is a viscountcy. For example, the eldest son of the Earl Howe is Viscount Curzon, because this is the second most senior title held by the Earl. However, the son of a marquess or an earl can be referred to as a viscount when the title of viscount is not the second most senior if those above it share their name with the substantive title. For example, the second most senior title of the Marquess of Salisbury is the Earl of Salisbury, so his heir uses the lower title of Viscount Cranborne.
Sometimes the son of a peer can be referred to as a viscount when he could use a more senior courtesy title which differs in name from the substantive title. Family tradition plays a role in this. For example, the eldest son of the Marquess of Londonderry is Viscount Castlereagh though the Marquess is the Earl Vane. A viscount's coronet of rank bears 16 silver balls around the rim. Like all heraldic coronets, it is worn at the coronation of a sovereign, but a viscount has the right to bear his coronet of rank on his coat of arms, above the shield. In this guise, the coronet is shown featuring 9 silver balls; the island of Jersey still retains an officer whose function is purely to administer orders of the island's judiciary, whose position remains non-hereditary. The role of the Viscount of Jersey (French: V
Baron
Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour hereditary. The female equivalent is baroness; the word baron comes from a Late Latin barō "man. The scholar Isidore of Seville in the 7th century thought the word was from Greek βᾰρῠ́ς "heavy", but the word is of Old Frankish origin, cognate with Old English beorn meaning "warrior, nobleman". Cornutus in the first century reports a word barones which he took to be of Gaulish origin, he glosses it as meaning servos militum and explains it as meaning "stupid", by reference to classical Latin bārō "simpleton, dunce". During the Ancien Régime, French baronies were much like Scottish ones. Feudal landholders who possessed a barony were entitled to style themselves baron if they were nobles; these baronies could be sold until 1789 when feudal law was abolished. The title of baron was assumed as a titre de courtoisie by many nobles, whether members of the Nobles of the Robe or cadets of Nobles of the Sword who held no title in their own right. Emperor Napoléon created a new imperial nobility.
The titles could not be purchased. In 1815, King Louis XVIII created a new peerage system and a Chamber of Peers, based on the British model. Baron-peer was the lowest title, but the heirs to pre-1789 barons could remain barons, as could the elder sons of viscount-peers and younger sons of count-peers; this peerage system was abolished in 1848. In pre-republican Germany all the knightly families of the Holy Roman Empire were recognised as of baronial rank, although Ritter is the literal translation for "knight", persons who held that title enjoyed a distinct, but lower, rank in Germany's nobility than barons; the wife of a Freiherr is called a Freifrau or sometimes Baronin, his daughter Freiin or sometimes Baroness. Families which had always held this status were called Uradel, were heraldically entitled to a three pointed coronet. Families, ennobled at a definite point in time had seven points on their coronet; these families held their fief in vassalage from a suzerain. The holder of an allodial barony was thus called Freiherr.
Subsequently, sovereigns in Germany conferred the title of Freiherr as a rank in the nobility, without implication of allodial or feudal status. Since 1919, hereditary titles have had no legal status in Germany. In modern, republican Germany and Baron remain heritable only as part of the legal surname. In Austria, hereditary titles have been banned. Thus, a member of the reigning House of Habsburg or members of the former nobility would in most cases be addressed as Herr/Frau in an official/public surrounding, for instance in the media. Still, in both countries, honorary styles like "His/her Highness", "Serenity", etc. persists in social use as a form of courtesy. In Luxembourg and Liechtenstein, barons remain members of the recognized nobility, the sovereigns retain authority to confer the title Generally, all legitimate males of a German baronial family inherit the title Freiherr or Baron from birth, as all legitimate daughters inherit the title of Freiin or Baroness; as a result, German barons have been more numerous than those of such countries where primogeniture with respect to title inheritance prevails as France and the United Kingdom.
In Italy, barone was the lowest rank of feudal nobility except for that of vassallo. The title of baron was most introduced into southern Italy by the Normans during the 11th century. Whereas a barony might consist of two or more manors, by 1700 we see what were single manors erected into baronies, counties or marquisates. Since the early 1800s, when feudalism was abolished in the various Italian states, it has been granted as a simple hereditary title without any territorial designation or predicato; the untitled younger son of a baron is a nobile dei baroni and in informal usage might be called a baron, while certain baronies devolve to heirs male general. Since 1948 titles of nobility have not been recognised by the Italian state. In the absence of a nobiliary or heraldic authority in Italy there are, in fact, numerous persons who claim to be barons or counts without any basis for such claims. Baron and noble are hereditary titles and, as such, could only be created or recognised by the kings of Italy or the pre-unitary Italian states such as the Two Sicilies, Parma or Modena, or by the Holy See or the Republic of San Marino.
Beginning around 1800, a number of signori began to style themselves barone but in many cases this was not sanctioned by decree, while there was less justification in the holder of any large landed estate calling himself a baron. Both were common p
The Grand Duke
The Grand Duke. It premiered at the Savoy Theatre on 7 March 1896, ran for 123 performances. Despite a successful opening night, the production had a short run and was the partnership's only financial failure, the two men never worked together again. In recent decades, the opera has been revived professionally, first in the US and in the UK. In The Grand Duke and Sullivan come full circle, back to the theme of their first collaboration, Thespis: a troupe of actors taking political power; the plot hinges on the mis-interpretation of a 100-year-old law regarding statutory duels. The baffled leading man of the troupe, spearheads the rebellion against the hypochondriac, miserly Grand Duke and becomes engaged to four different women before the plot is resolved; the frugality and phoniness of the wealthy classes and the nobility is lampooned and, as in Princess Ida, The Mikado, The Gondoliers, Utopia, the foreign setting emboldens Gilbert to use some pointed satire. Sullivan's varied score includes lilting Viennese waltz music.
During the production of Gilbert and Sullivan's 1889 comic opera, The Gondoliers, Gilbert became embroiled in a legal dispute with producer Richard D'Oyly Carte over the cost of a new carpet for the Savoy Theatre and, more over the accounting for expenses of the Gilbert and Sullivan partnership. Sullivan sided with Carte, the partnership disbanded. After The Gondoliers closed in 1891, Gilbert withdrew the performance rights to his libretti and vowed to write no more operas for the Savoy; the lawsuit left Gilbert and Sullivan somewhat embittered, though they collaborated on two more works, these suffered from a less collegial working relationship than the two men had enjoyed while writing earlier operas. Gilbert and Sullivan's penultimate opera, Limited, was a modest success compared with their earlier collaborations, it introduced Gilbert's last protege, Nancy McIntosh, as the heroine, who received unfavourable press. Sullivan refused to write another piece. Discussions over her playing the role of Yum-Yum in a proposed revival of The Mikado led to another row between Gilbert and Sullivan that prevented the revival, Gilbert's insistence upon her appearing in his 1894 opera, His Excellency, caused Sullivan to refuse to set the piece.
After His Excellency closed in April 1895, McIntosh wrote to Sullivan informing him that she planned to return to concert singing, so the obstacle to his further collaboration with Gilbert was removed. Meanwhile, Sullivan had written a comic opera for the Savoy Theatre with F. C. Burnand, The Chieftain, but that had closed in March 1895. Gilbert had begun working on the story of The Grand Duke in late 1894. Elements of the plot were based on several antecedents including "The Duke's Dilemma", a short story by Tom Taylor, published in Blackwood's Magazine, about a poor duke who hires French actors to play courtiers to impress his rich fiancee; the story contains the germ of the character of Ernest. In 1888, "The Duke's Dilemma" was adapted as The Prima Donna, a comic opera by H. B. Farnie that contains other details seen in The Grand Duke, including the Shakespearean costumes, a prince and princess who make a theatrical entrance. In addition, the plot shows similarities with the first Gilbert and Sullivan opera, Thespis, in which a company of actors gain political power.
Gilbert read a sketch of the plot to Sullivan on 8 August 1895, Sullivan wrote on 11 August to say that he would be pleased to write the music, calling Gilbert's plot sketch "as clear and bright as possible". The theme of Ernest being dead while still physically alive was used in earlier works by Gilbert and, separately by Sullivan, for example Tom Cobb and Cox and Box. Gilbert sold the libretto of the new piece to Carte and Sullivan for £5,000, so he took no risk as to whether or not it would succeed. Mr. and Mrs. Carte hired a new soprano, the Hungarian Ilka Pálmay, who had arrived in England and made a favourable impression on London audiences and critics with her charming personality. Gilbert devised a new plot line revolving around Pálmay, making her character, Julia, an English actress among a company of German actors, with the topsy-turvy conceit that her "strong English accent" was forgiven by her audiences because of her great dramatic artistry. Rutland Barrington's role, became the leading comedian of the theatrical company and the central role in the opera.
Gilbert had paired the title character with contralto Rosina Brandram, causing Sullivan to suggest some different pairings of the characters, but Gilbert and the Cartes disagreed. Unhappily for Gilbert, three of his usual principal players, George Grossmith, Richard Temple and Jessie Bond, who he had thought would play the title character, the prince and the princess, all left the company before rehearsals began for The Grand Duke, so he reduced the size of these roles, further changing his original conception. While Gilbert and Sullivan finished writing the show, the Cartes produced a revival of The Mikado at the Savoy Theatre, opening on 6 November 1895. Rehearsals for The Grand Duke began in January. Sullivan wrote the overture himself weaving together some of the best melodies in the opera. Gilbert made a few additional changes to the libretto shortly before opening night to avoid
Emperor
An emperor is a monarch, the sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife, mother, or a woman who rules in her own right. Emperors are recognized to be of a higher honour and rank than kings. In Europe, the title of Emperor has been used since the Middle Ages, considered in those times equal or equal in dignity to that of Pope due to the latter's position as visible head of the Church and spiritual leader of the Catholic part of Western Europe; the Emperor of Japan is the only reigning monarch whose title is translated into English as Emperor. Both emperors and kings are monarchs, but emperor and empress are considered the higher monarchical titles. Inasmuch as there is a strict definition of emperor, it is that an emperor has no relations implying the superiority of any other ruler and rules over more than one nation, therefore a king might be obliged to pay tribute to another ruler, or be restrained in his actions in some unequal fashion, but an emperor should in theory be free of such restraints.
However, monarchs heading empires have not always used the title in all contexts—the British sovereign did not assume the title Empress of the British Empire during the incorporation of India, though she was declared Empress of India. In Western Europe, the title of Emperor was used by the Holy Roman Emperor, whose imperial authority was derived from the concept of translatio imperii, i.e. they claimed succession to the authority of the Western Roman Emperors, thus linking themselves to Roman institutions and traditions as part of state ideology. Although ruling much of Central Europe and northern Italy, by the 19th century the Emperor exercised little power beyond the German-speaking states. Although technically an elective title, by the late 16th century the imperial title had in practice come to be inherited by the Habsburg Archdukes of Austria and following the Thirty Years' War their control over the states had become nearly non-existent. However, Napoleon Bonaparte was crowned Emperor of the French in 1804 and was shortly followed by Francis II, Holy Roman Emperor, who declared himself Emperor of Austria in the same year.
The position of Holy Roman Emperor nonetheless continued until Francis II abdicated that position in 1806. In Eastern Europe, the monarchs of Russia used translatio imperii to wield imperial authority as successors to the Eastern Roman Empire, their status was recognised by the Holy Roman Emperor in 1514, although not used by the Russian monarchs until 1547. However, the Russian emperors are better known by their Russian-language title of Tsar after Peter the Great adopted the title of Emperor of All Russia in 1721. Historians have liberally used emperor and empire anachronistically and out of its Roman and European context to describe any large state from the past or the present; such pre-Roman titles as Great King or King of Kings, used by the Kings of Persia and others, are considered as the equivalent. Sometimes this reference has extended to non-monarchically ruled states and their spheres of influence such as the Athenian Empire of the late 5th century BC, the Angevin Empire of the Plantagenets and the Soviet and American "empires" of the Cold War era.
However, such "empires" did not need to be headed by an "emperor". Empire became identified instead with vast territorial holdings rather than the title of its ruler by the mid-18th century. For purposes of protocol, emperors were once given precedence over kings in international diplomatic relations, but precedence amongst heads of state who are sovereigns—whether they be kings, emperors, princes, princesses and to a lesser degree presidents—is determined by the duration of time that each one has been continuously in office. Outside the European context, emperor was the translation given to holders of titles who were accorded the same precedence as European emperors in diplomatic terms. In reciprocity, these rulers might accredit equal titles in their native languages to their European peers. Through centuries of international convention, this has become the dominant rule to identifying an emperor in the modern era. In the Roman tradition a large variety in the meaning and importance of the imperial form of monarchy developed: in intention it was always the highest office, but it could as well fall down to a redundant title for nobility that had never been near to the "Empire" they were supposed to be reigning.
The name of the position split in several branches of Western tradition, see below. The importance and meaning of coronation ceremonies and regalia varied within the tradition: for instance Holy Roman Emperors could only be crowned emperor by the Pope, which meant the coronation ceremony took place in Rome several years after these emperors had ascended to the throne in their home country; the first Latin Emperors of Constantinople on the other hand had to be present in the newly conquered capital of their empire, because, the only place where they could be granted to become emperor. Early Roman Emperors avoided any type of ceremony or regalia different from what was usual for republican offices in the Roman Republic: the most intrusive change had been changing the color of their robe to purple. New symbols of worldly and/or spiritual power, like the orb, became an essential part of the imperial accessories. Rules for indicating successors varied: there was a tendency towards male inheritance of the supreme o
Oldenburg
Oldenburg is an independent city in the district of Oldenburg in the state of Lower Saxony, Germany. The city is named Oldenburg to distinguish from Oldenburg in Holstein. During the French annexation in the wake of the Napoleonic war against Britain, it was known as Le Vieux-Bourg in French; the city is situated at the Rivers Hunte and Haaren, in the northwestern region between the cities of Bremen in the east and Groningen in the west. It has a population of 167,633. Oldenburg is part of the Bremen/Oldenburg Metropolitan Region, with 2.37 million people. The city is the place of origin of the House of Oldenburg. Before the end of the German Empire, it was the administrative centre and residence of the monarchs of Oldenburg. Archaeological finds point to a settlement dating back to the 8th century; the place was first mentioned in 1108 as Aldenburg in connection with Elimar I, now seen as the first count of Oldenburg. The town gained importance due to its location at a ford of the navigable Hunte river.
Oldenburg became the capital of the County of Oldenburg, a small state in the shadow of the much more powerful Hanseatic city of Bremen. In the 17th century, Oldenburg was a wealthy town in a time of war and turmoil and its population and power grew considerably. In 1667, the town was struck by a disastrous plague epidemic and, shortly after, a fire destroyed Oldenburg; the Danish kings, who were counts of Oldenburg at the time, were not much interested in the condition of the town and it lost most of its former importance. In 1773, Danish rule ended, it was only that the destroyed buildings in the city were rebuilt in a neoclassicist style. After German Emperor Wilhelm II was forced to abdicate following the exhaustion and defeat of the German Empire in World War I, monarchic rule ended in Oldenburg as well with the abdication of Grand Duke Frederick Augustus II of Oldenburg on 11 November 1918; the Grand Duchy now became the Free State of Oldenburg, with the city remaining the capital. In the 1928 city elections, the Nazi Party received 9.8% of the vote, enough for a seat on the Oldenburg city council.
In the September 1930 Oldenburg state elections, the Nazi Party's share of the vote rose to 27.3%, on May 29, 1932, the Nazi Party received 48.4% of the state election, enough to put the Nazi party in charge of forming a state government and making Oldenburg the first state in the country to put the Nazis in power based on electoral turnout. By that autumn, a campaign of Aryanization began, forcing the sale of Jewish-owned properties at steep discounts. In 1945, after World War II, the State of Oldenburg was part of the British zone of occupation; the British military government of the Oldenburg region resided in the city. Several displaced persons camps were set up in the city that had suffered only 1.4% destruction during the bombing campaigns of World War II. About 42,000 refugees migrated into Oldenburg, which raised the number of residents to over 100,000. In 1946, the Free State of Oldenburg was dissolved, the area became the'Administrative District' of Oldenburg as part of the newly formed federal German state of Lower Saxony.
The city was now capital of the district. In 1978, the district was dissolved and succeeded by the newly formed Weser-Ems administrative region, again with the city as administrative capital; the State of Lower Saxony dissolved all of the Regierungsbezirke by the end of 2004 in the course of administrative reforms. Local elections take place every five years; the city council has 50 seats. The lord mayor is elected directly by the citizens; the city centre of Oldenburg is surrounded by a ring of freeways consisting of A 28, A 29 and A 293. Because of this, Oldenburg is connected to the nationwide network of federal autobahns, as well as to the international E-road network Oldenburg Central Station, Oldenburg Hauptbahnhof, is at the intersection of the railway lines Norddeich Mole—Leer—Oldenburg—Bremen and Wilhelmshaven—Oldenburg—Osnabrück, with Intercity services to Berlin and Dresden and InterCityExpress services to Frankfurt and Munich. Oldenburg is only about half an hour drive from Bremen Airport.
Other international airports nearby are Hannover-Langenhagen Airport. The small Hatten Airfield, is located about 17 km south-west of Oldenburg, it serves to small aircraft. A flight training school is located there, small planes can be chartered. Scenic flights can be booked as well. Oldenburg is connected to shipping through the Küstenkanal, a ship canal connecting the rivers Ems and Weser. With 1.6 million tons of goods annually, it is the most important non-coastal harbour in Lower Saxony. Bicycles play a important part in personal transport; the city is surrounded by large agricultural areas, about 80% of, grassland. There are farms near and a few within city limits. Predominant agricultural activities of the region are the cultivation of livestock dairy cows and other grazing animals, crops such as grains for food and animal feed, as well as asparagus, ka
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